Casket



Patented May 7, 19,29.

^ UNITED sTATEs l PATENT OFFICE.

Gemma Bosmrevls'r, or' rrra'snunen, PENNSYVANL l Application filed November 18, 1926.- S lerial' 149,089.

This'invention relates to hollow metal articles. More particularly it relates to metal' caskets or the like. i

It is among the objects of this invention to 1'5 hinge 'brackets, and handle lugs, are formed integrally with the main body portion;

whereby soldered' seams and joints in the meeting planes of the wall members and soldering, weldin, or riveting, forjoining the y brackets to thetbody portion of the casket-are entirely dispensed with.

Another object of 'the invention is to provide an integral metal casket which shall be of relatively light weight and durable con- '2.5 struction and which shall be relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

- Still another object of the invention is to provide a mold for metal caskets, or h'ollow articles, which is adapted to produce such articles, of any desired configurations or form and with extreme accuracy, and by means of which an indefinite number of such articles may be produced which shall be ofuniform size, Shape and quality throughout.

Numerous attempts have heretofore been made to produce burial caskets of -metal free of seams and joints, and some have been made .by the casting process employing molten metal. Caskets formed in this manner are of great weight and are very expensive, and as a result cast metal caskets have not been developed on a commercial basis to any great extent.v Other attempts have been made to form caskets of composition materials, glass and cements without obtaining the results sought for.

In accordance with the ;present invention it is proposed to manufacture metal caskets by providing a sectional mold of the shape of the article to be formed which mold constitutes a matrix o`n the surface of which galvanoplastic depositions are made to form the body of the casket. On account of the large size of the mold required for making burial caskets, I circulate the electrolytic solution in the mold in the manner described in a Patit is formed.

Referring to F ig. 1 of the drawings the 1926. In the accom anying drawings constitutmg a part hereo and in which like reference exit No. 1,594,50 9 granted to m 'August 8,-

characters designate like parts, Fig. lli's' a transvere sectional view of a metal casket made infaccorda-nce with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a similar view of the mold utii lized in making the casket in Fig. 1 Fig.. 3

isa longitudinal sectional view ofthe mold;

Figf is a cross-sectional) view of an' enlarged detali 'of the' mold and casket; .and Fig. 5 lis a slmilar vlew of a structure therein illustrated comprises a casket 1 formed in one piece which is 'free from seams and joints 'and which is" of substantially uniform cross-section throughout.

lThe casket is provided with'handle lugs 2,'

hinge brackets 3 and a sealing frame 4, which are formed integrally with the bod'y portion 1', 1n a mannerias'will be hereinafter set forth. The sealing frame 4 is provided with a groove 5 which is adapted to receive a tongue 6' of the sealing cover'7 which may also be formed of galvanoplastic metal in accordance'with'the present invention. An outer cover 8 which is primarily of an ornamental' nature, but' which has nothing to do with the casket in` forming a container, is secured to the casket on the hinge brackets 3 as shown. This cover' 8 may be `formed of metal and may be produc'ed in'thesame manner as the body of the |casket, but inasmuch as the casket is constituted by the body po'rtion 1 and the sealing cover 7 the o'rnamental cover 8 may be formed in any suitable manner and-of any'suitable material, as this has nothing to do lwith the present inirention.

The mold employed in forming the bodyportion-l of Fig. 1 isshown in Figs. 2 and 3 and is a sectional mold comprising the bottom sectionl 9, the side Sections 10, the end Sections 11,'Fig. 3', 'and the top section 12, all

.of these Sections being joined by bolts 13. ex-

tending through the lugs 14 to securely clamp them together.

The side sectlons 10 and the top Sections 12.

portion of the casket after loo are provided with apertures'or recesses 15,

16 and 17 which are of the form and dimensions ofhandle lugs 2, hinge brackets 3, and the sealing frame 4. The elements 2, 3, and 4 lmay be made of drop forgings, castings, or in any other suitable manner to make a unlform product, and they are inserted in the apel'- tures 15, 16, and 17 as shown in the -detail view of Fig. 4.

The inner surface of' the sectional mold is coated with a suitable substance, known in the art, to prerent adherence of the galvanoplastic precipitation to the surface of the mold. The inner surface of the lugs, brackets and frame, 2, 8, and 4, respectively, are

cleaned with acid .or otherwisectreated topresent a non-oxidized, clean metallic surface to theprecipitated metal to cause adherence thereof whereby the members are formed integrally With the deposition in the mold, and constitute an integral part of the body portl-ion 1 which is formed by the deposition of galvanoplastic precipitations.

After the mold has been prepared by inserting the lugs, bracke'ts andframe `portions 2, 3, and -1 into their respective apertures, 15, 16, and 17, 'the assembled mold is placed on the platform of a tank or vat containing the electrolyte, as is shown in -the patent referred to above, and one on a plurality of baskets of perforated material co-ntaining scrap copper or other suitable metal of which the casket is to be formed, are suspended within the mold.

The electrolyte is then conducted by suitable means such as a pump from the vat on which the. mold rests into the basket or baskets containing the scrap metal and the mold and basket being respectively connected to the terminals of a source of electrical energy, the ,galvanoplasticv precipitation vwill produce a deposition on the inner surface of the mold and on -the exposed surface of the inserts 2, 3,

-son of its contact with the metal mold.

A casket made in accordance with the present invention constitutes a unitary member free from joints, seams or the like and may be sealed to constitute an air-tight Chamber bv placing the seale127,'Fig. 1, having .tongues in 'the groove 5 of the sealing frame, which' may in addition be'prepared with suitable sealin material such as speclal cement to provi e an air-tight Jomt. v

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been herein described it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the details of construction and that the process may be.

edges, and secured thereto by galvanoplastic metal.

2. A casket section having its side, end, and bottom walls seamless, integral, of selfsustaining galvanoplastic 'metal velectrolytically deposited, and substantially homogeneous between the inner and outer galvanoplastic metal wall surfaces, and a' preformed sealing strip seton the open wall edges, and secured thereto by galvanoplastic metal.

8. A lcasket section having its side, end, and bottom walls seamless, integral, of selfsustaining galvanoplastic metal electrolytically deposited, and substantially homogeneous between the inner andouter galvanoplastic metal wall surfaces, and a preformed' sealing strip set'on the open wall edges, and secured thereto by said electrolytically depositedl metal.

4. A casket having sideA and end walls all integral ofa galvanoplastic metal ele'ctrolytically deposited, said wallsv including handling devices such as hinge and handle :brackets integrally UnitedtheretO. i i 5. A one piece burial casket having its side, end and bottom walls of a single layer of self sup-porting galvanoplastic metal electrolytically deposited, the outer surface being smooth and the electro-'deposited material being built up inwardly from said outer surface.

6. A burial casket comprising integral side andl end walls of electro-deposited material having their 'outer surfaces formed according to the predetermined surface design and contour of the interior of a mold, the electrodeposited body being built up inwardly from the outer surface and being sutficiently strong to withstand the Stress to which it'is subjected when used for burial purposes. i

In test-imony whereof, I sign my name.

GUNNAR ROS ENQVIST. 

